Prettiest Love Letters in the World: Letters Between Lucrezia Borgia & Pietro Bembo 1503 to 1519

Lucrezia Borgia's name has become synonymous with political intrigue & poison. Cardinal Bembo is remembered primarily as the namesake of a popular typeface. Borgia was a girl of surprising resilience & cunning. Pietro Bembo, the learned & surpassingly gentle scholar, was the perfect product of the Renaissance. The covert love affair they conducted over a period of 16 years under the nose of Borgia's ruthless brother, Cesare, was as dangerous as it was impassioned & their letters, which provide a unique record of life during the Italian Renaissance, are a testament both to a relationship of rare beauty & to a feudal society of strict boundaries, dark dynastic drives, boundless political ambition, & extraordinary gallantry. Charming & delicate wood engravings.Shankland, Hugh is the author of 'Prettiest Love Letters in the World: Letters Between Lucrezia Borgia & Pietro Bembo 1503 to 1519', published 2001 under ISBN 9780756794958 and ISBN 0756794951.